I used to use the circus as a device to explain marketing to people. Here’s marketing by way of the Big Top.
Last Night They Paid Me in Pizza
When you are what you sell — as most services are — you often find yourself being asked to help out. Which is totally cool — I really don’t have the financial wherewithal to make big donations to my favorite charities or my friends’ projects, but I can help out, applying my expertise in PR/marketing and social media.
Awards, Contests and Plans for Success
I used to be on the PR and marketing contests judges circuit. You judge one contest and you get asked to judge for another one. I did a stint with the Bellringers, PR News, the “Anvils” and a couple of local contests, including the NYC PRSA. Huge amount of fun; lots of reading; great opportunity to learn.
Changing Your Brand
Having Trouble Launching Your New Product?
You created the best thing since sliced bread and you want everyone to know. Once the word is out, you figure the world will beat a path to your door and you’ll be living the good life on some remote island…that you own. Or maybe it isn’t your new product. You are the product manager. Or the PR person. Or the agency person. You’re working for a big company that has something cool and unique to offer.
The Kitchen Table Survey
When you “own” one of the target market, kid, spouse, room-mate, you too have the ability to do a “Kitchen Table Survey.” Beware attributing any great insight into the KTS because your version of the KTS-ee may be unique (i.e. not representative of the entire target market, or, in the KTS vernacular “weird.”)
How Will Newsday Make Money Online?
Newsday, the NY tabloid-style newspaper, has announced that it will begin charging for access to its news online. Meanwhile, sadly, the Rocky Mountain News is no more. Other newspapers are in deep financial trouble — The San Francisco Chronicle comes to mind. Paul Gillin and others chronicle the incipient demise of the print journalist on the blog Newspaper Deathwatch. One of my follows on Twitter is the baby-faced The Media is Dying. TMID’s tweets are a regular drumbeat, pounding out […]
Old School PR – Is it Dead?
I started working in PR back “in the day.” I make interns giggle when I tell them about editing press releases by crossing out letters and words, using White-out and actually taping pieces of paper together to add additional information. We usually sent press release drafts to clients via courier or the mail.
Start-up Sanity Check
It happened again. I spent two hours last night catching up with a dear friend/former colleague whom I haven’t spoken with in a couple years. (We, like many people, recently re-connected on Facebook.) And I got to hear another fascinating business idea. In the last two months, I have been honored to be part of 6 such conversations. They are invariably fascinating and I learn something new with each one.
Chief Surfer
I get up ridiculously early in the morning. If my gym opened earlier than 5:00 am I would probably be there then too. I also multi-task with relish. I have my iPod on (I still haven’t started listening to the Nature podcast my son likes but I will get there eventually.) I can put my latest read on the elliptical machine book holder and scan a row of televisions usually tuned to the news. (Although, to be fair, TNT does […]